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Strip That Down
Strip That Down is the debut solo single by Liam Payne from his forthcoming debut studio album. It was co-written by Ed Sheeran, and features American rapper Quavo, from hip hop group Migos. "Strip That Down" is Payne's first single outside of One Direction, and he is the final member of the group to release solo material. The single was released May 19, 2017. It is currently the highest selling single from a remaining member of One Direction, with over 5 million copies sold. Lyrically, the song contains themes of wealth, celebrity appeal, sexuality and newfound career independence. Background Strip That Down is a trap influenced R&B pop track. Payne raps and sings over "pulsating" synth-bass and chants with minimalist production style. Liam told SiriusXM in May, how "Strip That Down" was the result of a spontaneous recording session, stating: "I was in LA. I got a call, they were like "Ed Sheeran's in the studio writing this song. It's for you so come down and listen. I was straight in. I went in with Steve Mac and within 30 minutes we'd finished it off". Liam explained the lyric "I used to be in 1D/Now I'm out free" to Ryan Seacrest, stating: "That's never to be taken in a negative sense! It's more that we're all free now to do our own thing in music and each have our own musical journey just to see where it takes us, and it's exciting". As the song's call and response pre-chorus closely resembles that of Shaggy's 2000 single "It Wasn't Me", all writers for It Wasn't Me received songwriting credits. Chart Performance Digital Upon release, Strip That Down went to #1 on iTunes in the United States, and went top ten worldwide. Official Strip That Down debuted at #3 in the United Kingdom, making One Direction the first band since The Beatles to have every member score a UK top 10 hit. It also debuted within the top 20 in most countries, peaking at #2 in Australia, #3 in Scotland and #5 in Ireland. It rose to a peak of #10 in the United States, making him the third member of One Direction to achieve a US top 10 hit. On June 16, 2017, bpi confirmed Strip That Down had been certified Silver, giving him his first solo bpi award. As of June 2018, the song's certifications include Australia: 4x PLATINUM (280k), Canada: 4x PLATINUM (320k), US: 3x PLATINUM (3mil), Ireland: 2x PLATINUM (15k), Sweden: PLATINUM (40k), Italy: PLATINUM (50k), New Zealand: PLATINUM (30k), Germany: PLATINUM (400k), UK: PLATINUM (600k), Brazil: PLATINUM (40k), France: GOLD (75k), Netherlands: GOLD (10k), Belgium: GOLD (15k) and Denmark: GOLD (30k). Strip That Down has been streamed on Spotify over 500 million times, and the music video was Vevo Certified after surpassing 100 million views. On October 2, it was announced the song had reached #1 on Billboard's Pop Songs radio airplay chart, making Liam the third member of One Direction to do so, and knocking fellow bandmate Niall Horan from the top spot. The achievement also makes One Direction the only group to spawn three solo artists with #1s, and the first time two members of the same group occupied the #1 and #2 spots. Critical Reception Rolling Stone called Strip That Down a "summer club banger."10 Billboard stated Payne "seems to be aiming for a DJ Mustard/Tyga vibe," and concluded saying "the song's fun: The swaggering, Directioner-baiting pre-chorus especially, which is probably the JT-est thing any of the five members have done since going solo." Comparing it to One Direction's catalogue, Jordan Harris from Express and Star opined it "is a lot more danceable, incredibly fun to listen to" and added, "Another similarity, and one which Liam would do well to use as a benchmark going forward, is the vocal style of Justin Timberlake." In Digital Spy, Laurence Mozafari wrote "the song screams of trying to be grown up." Lyrics Live Performances Music Video Dance Video Acoustic Audio Lyric Video Category:Singles Category:Songs Category:Songs with music videos